


Twimm says: Consent Matters

by Hazellum



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: "Haha fuck you in particular", :P, All about consent, Also fluff, And Twimm calls Zib "Blue" becasue Zib is still, But also, By default, Im calling Zim 2 "Twimm", M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, We all knew that, alien anatomy is wierd, also, and a bit of angst, and also Twimm sounds better, and ya cant give consent if youre not in youre right mind, angst about what?, asdfjhasdflkjhasdflkjhagd, becasue there is no way Im typiing out "Zim 2" each time, because Twimm is, but he does now because his Pak said, but like, he thinks the nickname "Blue" is really cute, kasdjfhasdlfkjhasfd, kinda touchy about being called ZIb, lcoks Zib in his room, like its his name, nothing explicit though, ok first of all, ok so, pretty much three thousand words of Twimm holding up a big sign that says "Consent Matters", read the tags, so Twimm literally just, so that Zib doesnt do anything he'd regret., thats it, thats the fic, the whole point is they dont fuck, this fic involves, uh, um, well Zib didnt, well youll just have to see, which heat kinda imples that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:15:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28802658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hazellum/pseuds/Hazellum
Summary: I just realized I put the summary in the tags, so uhasdlfjkhasdlkfjhasdlook there, i guess
Relationships: Zib | Zim Number 1 & Zim Number 2, Zib | Zim Number 1/Zim Number 2
Comments: 7
Kudos: 20





	Twimm says: Consent Matters

Twimm walked out of his quarters that morning stretching. He had a lot of work ahead of him, from the sound of things a new Zim had crashed into the void. Plus, he had to help Zib work on expanding the general infrastructure. Especially since improving conditions in the Void had been Twimm’s idea in the first place. With this second batch of Zims, Twimm figured they’d have a lot easier time convincing them to all stay put if another Dib ever fell into the void, if the void itself was at least halfway comfortable.

Plus, it was nice having somewhere decent for himself. Instead of the cobbled-together scrapwork that had been the signature look of the “Zimvoid 1.0” as Zib liked to call it, this time they’d cobbled together a couple of foundries and were making things look as clean and well-put-together as possible. It still wasn’t perfect, and the color palette was pretty bland, but it was certainly better than before.

As he was walking down the hallway, Twimm heard Zib up ahead in the small kitchenette they shared. Which was odd, since Zib would usually go as long as he could between meals. He seemed to think that eating was a waste of valuable time. Probably something to do with the slight paranoia he had that the Dib that had ruined everything the first time would return, and Zib wouldn’t have put in enough effort to be able to stop him from destroying things a second time.

In the kitchenette, Twimm found Zib looking through the (admittedly pretty empty) cabinets, before grabbing a box of donuts, tearing it open, and shoving one in his mouth.

“Zib? Are you… doing ok?” Twimm asked, walking up behind him. He noticed something smelt sweet, but it was probably just the donuts.

“No, I’m not. I'm tired, I'm starving, and the thermostat must be broken because it's hot in here, which means that’s just another thing I'll have to fix today,” Zib replied, his voice almost sounding like he was whining.

“I don’t think anything’s broken, it's actually pretty cool in here,” Twimm said, looking down at Zib again, and backing up a step. “Do you think you could be sick? I'm pretty sure when you… uh, well destroyed this reality no pathogens survived, but a new Zim landed last night and he might have been infected with something.”

“No, I haven’t left my lab since yesterday afternoon, until now to get some food,” Zib said, shoving another donut in his mouth. “Besides, if I had something you’d probably have it, you’re more likely to run into the new Zim than I am.”

After a moment, Twimm shrugged. “Well, let’s just go down to the medbay, I’ll run a scan for you. Better safe than sorry.” Zib nodded in agreement, and followed Twimm as he walked down the hall.

Not halfway to the med bay, Twimm felt Zib grab his arm. Looking down, he saw that Zib was practically snuggling his arm, and appeared to be smiling softly, his eyes half shut. Carefully pulling away, Twimm picked up his pace; something was clearly wrong with Zib, he was never this…. Touchy-feely. Most of the time, if Twimm so much as bumped into him in the hall, ZIb would jump like a startled cat.

“Zib? Are you ok?” Twimm asked again, as Zib rubbed his eyes.

“I… Let’s get to the med bay, I wanna know what’s wrong,” Zib replied, before taking a bite out of yet another donut.

“That’s probably a good idea. Try to keep up!” Twimm taunted, sticking out his tongue and breaking into a run, quickly followed by an indignant Zib.

In the medbay a couple of minutes later, Twimm skidded to a quick stop, chuckling as Zib collided with him. 

“Alright Blue, hop up on the scanner pad and I’ll get it running,” Twimm said, walking over to the datascreen. As Zib was being scanned, Twimm looked around, his antennae twitching. Something smelt really sweet, like cotton candy with chocolate drizzle almost. Once the scanner stopped running, Zib hopped off the pad and walked over to Twimm while he waited on the diagnosis.

When it popped up on the screen, Twimm blinked, looked at Zib, looked back at the datascreen, looked down at Zib one more time, looked at the screen again, then looked upwards as if to say “Why has the universe forsaken me?” After a moment of looking absolutely dead inside, Twimm scooped Zib up in his arms and began walking towards Zib’s room.

“What’s the matter with me?” Zib asked, snuggling against Twimm’s chest.

“You’re in the first stage of heat, so I’m going to lock you in your room before you have the chance to do something you regret,” Twimm said, keeping his gaze firmly ahead of him as Zib squawked in disbelief and struggled to get out of Twimm’s grip.

“IM WHAT?!” Zib exclaimed as he managed to extricate himself from Twimm’s grip.

“In heat. Not many Irkens… uh… go into heat, but apparently, your Zim would. Since you were both kids at the time, it didn’t happen, and when you were… well an adult and it still didn’t take effect I figured it wouldn’t be a problem,” Twim explained, rubbing his temples.

“So WHY is it happening NOW?” Zib demanded, stomping his foot.

“You’re not going to like the answer,” Twimm said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

“TELL ME!” Zib practically shouted, running a hand through his hair.

“Well, according to the medscanner, you’ve gradually become a higher percent Irken. But, uh. Hey, at least you still have hair?” Twimm answered, trying to placate Zib. Zib looked at him for a moment, before punching Twimm in the gut and running in the other direction.

“I AM NOT DEALING WITH THIS SHIT TODAY!” Zib shouted as he fled. Swearing, Twimm took off after him. While Twimm may have hit a growth spurt in the past few years, and he was certainly not  _ weak _ , Zib had always been a fast runner. It wasn’t long before Twimm had been left in the dust. Rolling his eyes, he went to the nearest control pad. 

One of the perks to sharing a living space with Zib was that if he initiated lockdown, Zib wouldn’t be able to escape to avoid his problems by burying himself in work. 

Walking down the looping hall, it wasn’t long before Twimm found Zib, standing at the exit door. Well, kicking it as hard as he could and cursing its very existence, but same difference.

“C’mon, Blue, let’s get you back to your room,” Twimm said, walking up to Zib. As he neared him, the sweet scent from earlier seemed to have gotten stronger. “Shit, it looks like you’re about to enter phase two. You’ll really want to be in your room for that.”

“I think I have enough  _ self-control _ to keep my wits about me!” Zib protested, whirling on Twimm and crossing his arms.

“Well, we’ll see about that during phase four. So let’s just get you to your room before we have to worry about it,” Twimm said, looking nonplussed.

“Well if it's not even a problem until phase four, why can’t I just go get some work done?”

“If I explain this to you as we walk to your room, will you come with me?” Twimm replied, answering Zim’s question with another question. Zib considered this for a moment, before nodding in agreement.

“Ok, well first thing you need to know is that there are four phases to an Irken heat cycle. The first phase, which you’re in right now, is more of a warning of what’s to come than anything else. And as you’ve seen the main symptoms are hunger, tiredness, and wanting to be cuddled. Lesser symptoms are the start of pheromone release in small amounts, and slight irritability,” Twimm said, matter of factly.

“I do not want to be cuddled!” Zib protested, brow furrowing.

“Then why are you hugging my arm again?” Twimm retorted. Zib looked at where he was, in fact, hugging Twimm’s arm, scowled, and stepped to the side.

“Phase two, which you’re about to enter, is when the pheromone production ramps up, though luckily not anywhere near as bad as in phase three. In phase two, they only affect Irkens who already have an… emotional attachment to the Irken in heat. In phase three, it's rather more… uh… indiscriminate. Phase two also increases how much the irken in heat desires physical touch, though it isn't really until phase three that the touch desired is necessarily… uh, well,” Twimm trailed off, blushing furiously.

“Sexual?” Zib replied, rolling his eyes. “Honestly, I think I’ll be fine. I can just… I don't know, you said something about pheromones, I can just wear a hazmat suit, and boom, problem solved.”

“I can’t tell if you’re being deliberately obstinate or if this is all just messing with your head,” Twimm said, one antenna flicking back in annoyance.

“Oh, I assure you, it's quite deliberate,” Zib replied, smirking. Without seeming to realize it, he grabbed Twimm’s hand again, linking their fingers. Twimm, in response, tugged Zib’s hand around in front of his face, as if to say “Oh yes, you’ll be totally fine, nothing to worry about at all.”

“That doesn't prove anything!” Zib huffed, though not removing his hand from Twimm’s. Twimm looked unconvinced, but before he could say anything, they had arrived at Zib’s room.

“Alright, head on in,” Twimm said, expectantly. Zib did not move from where he stood.

“I don’t wanna,” Zib said, tightening his grip on Twimm’s hand. Twimm, however, just picked him up and yeeted him bodily through the door, slamming it shut behind Zib. A few seconds of typing on a nearby hallway control panel, and Zib’s door was securely locked.

“BETRAYAL! BETRAYAL OF THE HIGHEST ORDER! MAY YOU BE CAST INTO THE FLAMES OF THE SMELTER, AND YOUR PAK WIPED CLEAN!” Zib screeched through the door, slamming his fists against it.

“Uh-huh, sure thing,” Twimm replied, walking over. “And before you think of trying to escape, our entire quarters are still on lockdown, so even if you get out of your room, you’re not going anywhere.”

“TWIMM, I SWEAR IF YOU ODNT OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW, I’LL, I’LL-” 

“You’ll what, shortstop?” Twimm taunted, before jumping back as a pak-leg-shaped dent appeared in the door. The screech of pain from the other side told Twimm that, in denting the door, Zib had managed to break his Pak leg.

“Hey dumbass, you do realize those are a pain to fix, right?” Twimm said, making sure to keep his voice loud enough it would carry through the metal of the door. Zib didn’t deign to answer. Shrugging, Twimm walked off to go find a blanket or a chair or something. He was going to sit guard outside Zib’s door, both to make sure he didn’t try to escape, and because he did feel kinda guilty locking him in his room. Even if it was for Zib’s own good. The least he could do was give him some company, even if they weren’t face to face.

When Twimm returned a few minutes later, dragging a chair from their hardly-ever-used living room behind him, he saw there was another pak-leg shaped dent in the door, but that Zib was otherwise quiet.

“Blue, you doin ok in there?” Twimm asked, knocking against the door.

“T-Twimm, do you hate me?” Zib asked, sounding like he was about to cry. “B-Be honest.”

“What? No! Why would I hate you…. Uh, don’t answer that, but. I don’t hate you, ok?” Twimm said, trying to comfort Zib. Twimm heard Zib laughing dryly, pain evident in his voice.

“Y'know, it would be great if I could believe that, if I could know that it wasn’t all just because of the DibVirus, that at any moment you aren’t going to- going to snap out of it, a-and h-hate me forever,” Zib said, as he started to cry.

“W-Wait, the DibVirus? Zib, you do realize that never actually…  _ worked _ on me, right? Something about the prototype you used on me just was entirely nonfunctional,” Twimm said, antennae flicking forward.

“I- But that doesn't make any sense! I- After everything I’ve done, why don’t you hate me?” Zib asked, not sounding like he believed Twimm.

“Because… I think because of the way you’d never give up. Always struggling forward, even after everything was literally torn to the ground and you had to start all over. How you just rebuild everything, bigger and better. And because… Even though you never admit it to yourself, you care. If you didn’t care, you could have just rebuilt the Zimvoid to have better security, but instead… You’ve put all this effort into making it a nice place to live,” Twimm said, sitting down in the chair he’d dragged over. “And every little thing that makes you… you. As cheesy as it sounds.”

Zib was quiet for a while, before speaking again. “I- Thanks. I don’t know what else to say, just… thanks,” Zib said, calmer. “I- Fucking hell I want to hug you right now,”

“Aaaaand that's the heat, probably.”

“Thanks, I hate it.”

After a while of sitting there quietly, Twimm drifted off to sleep, sitting upright in the chair. He slept soundly for a few hours, before he was woken by the sound of Zib screaming.

“What’s the matter?” twimm shouted, alarmed, his antennae flat against his head. Zib didn’t sound in pain, or scared, just alarmed.

“MY DICK’S THE MATTER! WHAT THE FUCK, ITS A FUCKING TENTACLE! IVE GOT A TENTACLE DICK, TWIMM! WHAT THE FUCK!” Zib shouted, almost as loudly as he had been screaming a moment earlier.

“Blue! Calm down! Are you in pain?” Twimm asked, worried.

“NO, BUT MY DICK’S A FUCKING TENTACLE! WHAT THE FUCK!”

“Uh… It sounds like it rearranged itself to… uh… better fit Irken anatomy,” Twimm suggested, warily. 

“WHY THE FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK! WHAT THE FUCK!” ZIb shouted, not calming down in the least.

“Blue, calm down! This isn’t that different to when your nose fell off, so just… try not to freak out too much, okay?”

“Dont- Dont freak OUT? What do you mean freak out?! Im perfectly calm! Perfectly fucking A-OK! First Im so touch starved it feels like Im gonna die, now my dick’s turned into a fucking tentacle!” Zib shouted, though not as loudly.

“Yeah, it is… odd. But hey, at least-” Twimm was interrupted by Zib shrieking again.

“IT FUCKING SPLIT OPEN LIKE A FUCKING BLOOMING FLOWER!” 

Twimm looked at the door, stood up, and walked down the hallway to his room. He’d check on Zib in about a day, see if everything was over, but until then Twimm wanted a hot shower, some food, and then about an eternity long nap.

A full thirty hours later, Twimm walked down the hallway towards Zib’s room. The first thing he noticed was that there were now another two Pak-leg-shaped dents in the door, which meant that ZIb had probably managed to break every one of his Pak legs against the metal of the door. Great, just more things for Twimm to fix.

Knocking against the door, Twimm didn’t get a response. After a moment of debating to himself, he unlocked the door and stepped into Zib’s room. When he wasn’t immediately pounced on by a five-foot tall crazed gremlin with five o clock shadow, Twim breathed a sigh of relief. Looking around, he spotted Zib passed out in the corner, curled into a ball.

“Zib?” he called out, as he began picking up the shattered ends of Pak legs off the floor. Zib stirred in his sleep, but didn’t wake up. After a moment, Twimm left Zib’s room, taking the Pak leg pieces with him. He’d put them somewhere safe for now, and would help Zib fix them later. On his way down the hall, Twimm stopped by the bathroom and started a hot bath running, throwing in a bath bomb as he did so.

When Twimm returned to Zib’s room a few minutes later, he was sitting up, rubbing his eyes. “Hey Blue, there’s a bath running for you, wanna go get washed up?” Zib nodded, standing up shakily. Twimm stepped out of his way as Zib stumbled to the door. Before he left, however, ZIb paused.

“Uh, Twimm… I just wanted to thank you. For…. uh…. Making sure I didn’t do anything I’d regret, and for… always being there for me.”

“Hey, it’s no problem! Although, now I kinda get why you were always so jumpy, if you thought that at any given moment there was a possibility I’d turn on you.”

“Yeah… uh. Do you think maybe later we could… talk? About…. Things?” Zib asked, rubbing worriedly at the back of his neck.

“Sure. But only after you’re fully recovered, ok?”

“That’s… probably a good idea,” Zib said, as he shuffled off down the hall to the bathroom.

**Author's Note:**

> Look, I wrote this in a single day because the idea hit me at like
> 
> 3 am
> 
> dont judge me


End file.
